Question

Is my low birth-weight baby gaining weight fast enough?

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My son was born full term (38 weeks, 5 days) but was low birth-weight (4 pounds, 4 ounces). From day one, the doctors told me that he would catch up weight-wise by age 2 and that he would start growing more quickly than average to do so. However, this is not happening and I am concerned! He is now 9 months old, weighs 13 pounds and seems quite healthy and is developing normally at this point. But his weight gain has slowed to about 6-8 ounces per month for the last few months. I nurse him on demand and offer solids 2-3x/day, although he still prefers nursing over eating solids and doesn't take in a lot of calories through solids yet. Should I be concerned about his slowed weight gain?

Mom Answers

Thanks for your replies. My son is now 2 years old and growing well - 5th percentile for weight and 15th for height. He didn't pack on the weight until after he hit one, then he started eating all the time and is now at age 2 on the growth charts for the first time. He continues to be a healthy and happy little guy and I feel very blessed! You both are right - babies grow at their own pace. And for others out there facing the same issue, give your low-birth weight baby time to catch up! I think doctors tend to give advice based on the "norm," but not every child fits the typical. As long as your baby is hitting developmental milestones, seems healthy, and continues to grow (even if slowly), take a deep breath and give it some time. I made the mistake of trusting more in the doctor's words than in my own instincts.

My little guy was also a low birth weight baby. 4 pounds 10 ounces. His older brother was a preemie 4 pounds 7 ounces. So my boys were in range of your little guy. The thing with low birth weight and preemie babies has almost always been with weight. They will hit periods where they bypass largely the amount of weight they should be gaining. Suddenly you have this child that was barely gaining stack on three pounds in a couple of weeks. It's just usually kind of waiting it out for their own little bodies to pack it on. If he's eating well than I'd imagine things will turn out fine. I'd just make sure to weigh him pretty often yourself and see what he normally gains a week so you have an idea of when he starts to pack on more. Sometimes you can kind of guess at their growth spurts from that. My oldest didn't catch up for some time, I think it was like four before he really started to be as big as the other kids. By 8 he was outgrowing them. Every kid is different though.

Glad to know as i was worried about my baby. he was 2.3 kg (5 pounds) when he born full term (38th week). but he gain weight fast after birth. His doc says very few gain weight this fast (3 kg by first month). Then he slowed down a bit but keep gaining. It is for last two months i was feeling that he was gaining very slow (1.4 kg in last two months) but now m satisfied by reading this. Thanks

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